


Renew

by SomebodyElse



Series: Steven Universe Fics 2017 [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: After the newest Steven Bomb, Angst, Eyeball Redemption AU, Feelings, Multi, Tried to write more before the start of the show again but eh, irl and stuff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-09
Updated: 2017-03-07
Packaged: 2018-09-23 04:36:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9641030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomebodyElse/pseuds/SomebodyElse
Summary: She had been crying for help ever since the war, for 5000 thousand years.(Eyeball Redemption AU)





	1. Drifting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Empyrisan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Empyrisan/gifts).



> So hey, I know I have another fic in stage of progress, but I had this lying in my drafts since ever an exchange on tumblr with Empyrisan. So, without further ado, lets begin, shall we?

**Chapter 1: Drifting**

She spends the first few minutes screaming into the void, and without the bubble to transmit the vibrations of her voice, it's about as effective as using a block of ice to start a fire.

Completely pointless.

But she screams anyway, mindless rage and suffocating disbelief - _she had been so close-_ prompting her to hurl her dagger through the silent space, and she screams and screams, taking comfort from feeling her muted voice rumble in her throat. But in the end, the left-over air she had stored inside her form ran out, leaving her as empty as the void around her.

She stops screaming.

In hindsight, gloating and day-dreaming about fame and acknowledgement, just as she had Rose Quartz at her mercy, was a really dumb move. Not attacking her- Ruby would do the same again and again, whenever the chance presented itself; now that she knew the leader of the rebellion is alive, she would have been relentless, dogging the traitorous quartz's steps, watching, hoping, that eventually the murderer would falter and she could strike her down. Show her what a determined ruby can do.

That thought keeps her ablaze for days.

Eventually though, the rage and bitter hatred shimmers down- not entirely gone but put under the lid once again- and Ruby realizes that to even attempt revenge for her Diamond, she would need to get back to Earth first, and the thought is as sobering as actually catching a glance of the planet from the corner of her eye. Smaller than a pebble and glowing blue against the abyssal darkness.

It is too far away for her to be pulled back down by its gravitational pull.

But Ruby did not survive the war by lying down and giving up. She is determined and battle-hardened; one had to be, with a gemstone placed in the worst position on her body. She had proven to be an excellent fighter even with her limited vision, and she will prove to the others again, that if you wanted to get something _done_ , she was the right one for the job.

However as the days passed, and there was no signs of the rest of her platoon- and no sights of the Roaming Eye either- Ruby started to doubt her odds a little. But surely the officers back on Homeworld must have noticed the lack of reports.

Surely they already sent out a second Roaming Eye to find out what happened.

Surely they weren't just written off as lost.

Surely....

But with each passing moment, her hope in getting saved started fading little by little, her chances of being actually missed getting slimmer and slimmer. With no future to look forward to, it took only a second for her resolution to falter, and the mind-churning boredom gave way to acknowledge that to Homeworld she's worth absolutely nothing. Despite her loyalty. Despite her services against Rebellion.

Betrayal soon gave way to weariness and exhaustion. Where before Ruby had her sight firmly pinned to the planet that, once upon a time, was to be her Diamond's colony, now she spent the endless slow drifting curled as tightly as possible, with her arms wrapped around her chest and eye squeezed shut. She found she missed hearing her own voice, though Ruby has never been one for talking.

Ruby was tired.

But most importantly, she was incredibly, almost cripplingly lonely.

She missed her platoon- missed being around other rubies in general. She missed the bragging and one-on-one sparring, missed team-building exercises and fusion lessons. She even missed her old barracks on Homeworld, and Homeworld itself, merciless backstabbers they were.

Gems were made for space.

They weren't made for utter and complete isolation.

Once Ruby started thinking about her squad, she couldn't get them out of her mind. They plagued her every conscious thought; making her wonder where they ended up. Were they together? Were they separated? Do they know that to Homeworld, they were nothing but unfortunate casualty?

Tiny part of her- a really tiny part- cruelly wished they had nothing but dark cold space around them, so she isn't alone with these feelings of loss and complete worthlessness. A much bigger part- stronger and more passionate part- fervently hoped they ended within sight of each other, lost and forgotten but not alone, because they were rubies and rubies _always_ travelled in pair or more, and there was no fate worse than for a ruby to end up completely alone, without naught of a word for longer than a day.

_(That has been the worst but rarely employed punishment they dished out on Homeworld. Rubies, with their out of control emotions and rough personalities, did not really fit with the other soldiers, and so even though they belonged to different Diamonds, when they weren't on duty they resided in common barracks and formed a tight-knit community. And as such, they had their hierarchy, and their rules.)_

Time passed slowly.

The thing about space having no air, was that not only one couldn't speak but there was also no sound either. It was completely, numbingly silent, and though she tried her best, Ruby could not overcome it with thoughts alone. It was maddening; there was really no other way to describe this kind of silence- it was simply an absence of any sound whatsoever.

On occasion, Ruby caught herself screaming her thoughts as loud as she can- sometimes she was mouthing them, desperately trying to fool herself into thinking that she could still speak.

At the end of her second rotation around Earth, she stopped thinking.

The silence that followed has been blissful for a beat- before it got too obnoxious. And yet Ruby couldn't bring herself to start thinking again, and so she swallowed her bitter resentment down and just tried to go... Blank.

The time stopped.

Or perhaps, it went on faster than before, but Ruby couldn't really tell and didn't really try to either.

The name 'Rose Quartz' hadn't crossed her mind in months.

-«-

It was partly jarring, returning to space. Like waking from a bad dream and being just so-so fresh from it- enough that you still haven't shaken off the scare.

Steven supposes that's what happens when one gets lost in space for however many hours.

But, truthfully, it wasn't _all_ bad; there was just something about the starry canvas of nebulas and distant suns that just stroke the right chord within Steven- like coming home after a long day at Funland. He wonders if it is because of his gem heritage, or because of his dad. Glancing at the man out of corner of his eyes, he could see the giddiness in his gaze, the wonder. His father looked at least ten years younger just from looking at space- and Steven would bet his flip-flops that the man has plenty of new songs and cover arts waiting.

Steven shares his excitement, really he does. But there is enough wariness now too, as the three times he had been off the planet's surface did not end exactly well for him.

And the most current 'adventure' isn't even over yet.

"Steven."

Blinking, the boy pulled his gaze from the ships window to look up at Garnet who came to stand beside him. Her head was tilted down to face him and her expression was set in a concerned frown. Steven wondered what she sees in their potential futures that it causes this reaction.

Seeing that she got his attention, the tall gem continued.

"We are almost close to the debris where we saw the rubies." She paused. "...You must be sure of your choice to pick them up."

Ah.

That.

Steven takes a deep breath, but it comes out shakier than he wanted. Garnet notices and her frown deepened..

"Steven..."

"I want to bring them back to Earth." He interrupted her quietly. It occurs to him in that moment, that he didn't really tell the Gems what happened while was alone with Eyeball and grimaces. That was a conversation he was _not_ looking forward to. Taking another breath, he looked straight at her, into what he hopes are her eyes.

"Being out there, alone... It's not fun." He still shivered, shooting his father a grateful look when the man grasped his shoulder in support.

"And it's been _months_ for them now- I don't want them to be forgotten out there. Okay?"

Both Amethyst and Pearl are looking over now, with the lithe gem's hands hovering above the controls. Their looks are flickering between him and Garnet- and how odd it is that they are technically waiting for the fusion's approval of _his_ order (of sorts)?

The tall gem is clearly inspecting his face for any fake bravado, but in this Steven was hundred percent sure. He only hoped that Eyeball cooled out a little in the time of their separation (no matter how mean spirited the thought was).

"...Alright," Garnet said finally, her face softening a tad. The frown remained but not as severe as before; it seems the fusion knew there was more to the "lost in space" story. She reached out with her hand- Ruby's gem, Steven noticed- and ruffled his hair, before turning her head to the others.

"Pearl. Let's see if the ship can scan for nearby gem activity."

"Well, if you are both sure," the lithe gem said uneasily but did as she was asked to, her nimble fingers skilfully tapping away on the console.

"Where are we gonna put 'em, though?" Amethyst murmured. "Can't at the Barn; Laz and Peri would murder us. The Barn's their crib now."

"Yeah and I only had that one, sorry," Greg chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.

Steven grimaces.

He hadn't thought that far.

But it was clear they cannot allow the rubies to return to Homeworld, as that would ruin the whole point of being hidden. It was the same with Peridot really, but in that they at least had a chance to bond as they  built the drill to stop the cluster. They won't have the same luxury where the rubies are concerned; first of all, the fact there are five of them plays greatly against their cause. Easily misguided as they are, the rubies aren't stupid (his brief talk with Eyeball proved that), and any attempts at befriending would be looked upon with suspicion.

Rightfully so, given they tricked the red gems not once, but twice.

"We'll think of something later," he said at least, weary "We got to pick them up first." Heaving a sigh, the boy looked out of the window again, watching the bright glowing dots of the stars around them zoom by. He wondered which of the rubies they'll find first.

He hoped it was Eyeball.

He wished it wasn't.

Torn between getting the confrontation over with or for it to never happen, the boy didn't notice his guardians exchange troubled glances.

Greg heaved a silent sigh, rubbing his cheek absently- picking at of his crystal earrings for a moment- before moving to sit beside his son.

"Hey Shtewball," he greeted softly, leaning in to get a better look at Steven's face. "Penny for your thoughts?"

The boy blinked, first looking at his father, before his attention turned to the gems. Garnet's expression remained largely unchanged from before, though now she had her arms crossed. Amethyst's previous enthusiasm about meeting her famethysts seemed to have faded, and now she was nervously fidgeting beside Pearl, who apart from the occasional worried glance continued to focus on her given task.

"It's... It's just-" Steven started before biting his lip. To be perfectly honest with himself, he didn't really _want_ to tell the gems about what happened. That would include telling them about what Eyeball said _before_ Steven made the mistake about presenting himself as Rose Quartz, and somehow... Telling all that felt like breaking a secret- like despite their 'disagreement', there was a sort of trust Eyeball had in him, when she confessed her need for closure.

Steven didn't want to break that trust.

"Just, be easy on Eyeball, okay guys?" He said in the end, weary "She... Might be not so happy with me." A beat of silence.

"...She also thinks I'm Mom."

"Wha- her too?!" Amethyst cried out, indignant and disbelieving, while Greg huffed out a tired 'oh boy'. "Ugh! What's with these homeworld dudes?"

"I didn't exactly tell her otherwise." Steven added with a murmur before wincing as all heads turned sharply to him. They read into that confession deeper than he wanted them to, and from their expressions, he knew- to his dismay- that they read correctly.

"Oh Steven," Pearl gave a soft groan, her task forgotten and eyes already watering "I- is this- is this my fault? Oh, it _is_ , isn't it, oh _Steven_ -"

"Hang on a moment." Garnet interrupted her suddenly, touching her shoulder, but with her gaze never straying from Steven's face. There was a new level of intense in the tall gem's expression that the boy _didn't like_ , and he knew exactly what was coming next.

"Steven."

Her voice attempted to be soothing, but there was an undertone of firmness and so Steven reluctantly looked up, forcing himself to brave through the stern lines in her expression.

"You and the ruby flew together. You were trapped together."

True to her nature, Garnet did not ask questions; she offered statements, choosing her words carefully, trying to get him speak up.

Steven stayed stubbornly silent.

"... She hurt you," the tall gem continued, though this time her voice turned odd- it gained a quality Steven never heard from her before, and it startled him so much, he nearly let her words pass. " _She hurt you."_

"She didn't!" Steven cried out, his heart jumping into his throat.

Rage _._

That's what he's been hearing. This was not the explosive temper of Ruby, which Garnet presented before, or the quiet cold treatment of Sapphire. This was pure, but tightly controlled rage. Both simmering under the lid but at the same time chillingly cold. This was not only Garnet, but both Ruby and Sapphire shining through, _all of them_ directing their anger towards common enemy.

"She didn't hurt me!" He repeated because he did not like this new side of Garnet- it did not scare him, as there were now things that scared him far more, but that didn't mean it wasn't unsettling.

"It was _me_ ," he continued, and tears started stinging in his eyes "I hurt her..."

He didn't elaborate, as he felt he couldn't really find the strength to explain all of it. Besides, he _was_ aware that he wasn't completely at fault- Eyeball could have stopped to listen, could have choose to calm down- but could Steven really blame her when she didn't?

He started the whole train wreck, with his misguided attempts to help.

And then he hurled her through space.

The fusion training, and his talks with Connie helped him to accept it, but it still made something awful churn in his stomach.

"Hey bud," his father spoke softly, his thumb brushing away any stray tears that rolled down Steven's cheek "It's okay. Mistakes happens sometimes. We talked about that, yeah?" The man smiled slightly "If every pork chop were perfect-"

"W-we wouldn't have hotdogs," Steven finished thickly, brushing the last few tears away himself. Looking up, he found both Amethyst and Pearl gazing at him with gut-wrenchingly guilty expressions, making him internally wince. Seems he would have to expect some careful handling and walking-on-eggshells behaviour for a while.

Garnet's arms were once again crossed and the fusion was looking towards the ship's door.

Steven was unsure how he felt about that. It was clear she _saw_ something in the future- something that had her behave in this... Strange, grumpy way. At least, that's what Steven thought. What other explanation was there?

"...The scanner is picking up readings of a single gem," Pearl broke the silence, her tone almost meek "We should be able to see who is it in approximately one minute." Ice cold water seemed to run down Steven's back, but the boy suppressed any shivers.

"Let's get her on board." He said instead, determined.

He could feel the ship slowing, the metal- was it metal?- around him thrumming as the energy engines started working towards greater manoeuvrability, instead of speed. The stars beyond the ship's windows changed from speeding streaks to stationary spots, making it seem like the ship was not moving at all. Steven wondered if this bothered the gems at all, knowing at in radius of million upon million miles, there was no-one, apart from them. Floating alone in space.

Shaking the grim thought away, the boy focused instead on the soft chime of what he assumed is the radar, and following the indicator, he looked outside, just as Pearl turned on the lights.

The ruby clearly flinched, raising her head from the fetal position she had been curled previously in. Her face was mixture of hope and fear.

Two eyes. Gem on a left thigh.

It was Leggy.

Steven's stomach dropped.

Not from the fact that it was not Eyeball- he couldn't be truly disappointed from _that_ , truthfully. He knew what was coming, even as Pearl carefully moved the ship so the tracker beam could pull the gem in.

Doc had called Leggy 'newbie'. She pulled her around, and always made sure she followed. Steven didn't know how _new_ Leggy exactly was, but from her shyness and unsure actions alone? Freshly out of kindergarten probably. It was not a comforting thought; it mean that the mission to Earth had to be her first, and how did it end? With her lost in space. Alone, for months.

Pulled inside by the beam and getting safely past the field that protected them from the vacuum outside, the ruby dropped to the ground like a limp bean bag. She was squinting against the bright light, but when she did finally blink away her temporal blindness, and her eyes adjusted to the lighting of the circular room, Steven could see the exact moment she realized who saved her.

Her face dropped all pretences of hope, and not a mere second after it scrunched up. A choke, as she drew in deep breath- and then the crying started.

Soft at first, but steadily getting louder with each second. It was a heart-wrenching wail, ugly with heaving, harsh sobs; tiny bit of relief mixed with overwhelming terror. She was saved, yes- but in her mind, she went from bad to worse. First tormented by the cold isolation of space, and then suddenly captured by the enemy who flung her there in the first place.

"P-please," she hiccupped, voice squeaky and distressed and _oh_ , Steven could not handle this, why did they have to be rubies? "I don't kno- know a- _anything_ , p-please-"

She begged and cried, pleas spilling from her lips in a garbled, distressed mess, and Steven hated the way she was covering against the closed door, one hand clutching her gemmed thigh as if sure they would shatter her if she didn't.

"I want to go h-home," she sobbed, pressing the palm of her right hand to her face, mouth twisted in despair and fat tears rolling down her cheeks and plinking softly against the floor. _"I just w-want to go h-home..."_

Those words were so familiar. Not their exact form but in how they were spoken. Soft, lonely cries of a child pushed to their limits, naively pleading for their hurts to be miraculously magicked away. But where Steven got his father back, this ruby would not be so lucky to get her wish.

That did it.

Getting up from his seat, Steven walked over in swift, determined strides- pushing past his father, who stared at the scene, looking conflicted- pushing past Pearl and Amethyst who watched Leggy's break down with uncomfortable, indecisive expressions. But before  he could get one step closer to the weeping gem, large hand grasped his shoulder.

"Steven-"

But the boy looked up at her, face grim and sad, and it seemed whatever Garnet saw in his expression had her bite back any protests or warnings. With her own shoulders slumping slightly, the odd frown returned back to her lips- but she let go of him none-the-less. Steven gave her a watery but warm smile in return, before crossing the last remaining distance between him and the red gem.

He dropped to his knees in front of her- heart aching and ears ringing as she flinched and her sobbing took on more breathless quality. From this close he could see she was shaking terribly- and yet there was no indication she was about to defend herself. Any fight or flight response was gone- the small gem was completely resigned to whatever fate awaited her. Devoid of hope.

He wrapped his arms around her before she could pull further back, ignoring the way her breath hitched and the soft whimper that escaped her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, and she chocked back a keen "I'm _so_ sorry."

Another sob- and then her arms were wrapping  around him, gripping too tight at moments but full of desperate need for contact; for something solid and alive to hold on to. Leggy's cries became muffled as she buried her face into his chest, making Steven wince as hot tears started dripping onto his bare skin.

But he didn't let go- couldn't let go. Shifting his arm so he could cup the back of Leggy's head he drew her closer, into far more comfortable embrace, drawing onto his own memories of being comforted.

They should have come for them sooner. If this was the state the young gem was in, what about the others? What about Eyeball, who was drifting alone, just like Leggy did? The gem in question was now sniffling softly, unconsciously rubbing her face against his skin- and Steven grimaced, because gems _do_ possess snot, so, _ew_ \- but she was quieting down, her attention obviously captivated by something.

And that something turned out to be his heartbeat, as the boy found out, when Leggy turned her head so she could hear better. Still sniffling a little, but her eyes were wide, and her hand rose from her thigh to rest next to her head, trying to feel the beat  as well. It seemed to sooth her, so Steven let her be, and turned his head to look back at the others.

They let him do his thing uninterrupted, though they weren't as unaffected as the silence falsely indicated. Amethyst had shuffled closer in the last few minutes he spent comforting the red gem, and her face was full of honest concern and ache- and of course she would be the first to approach. The purple gem liked to put up a tough front, but Steven knew for one that she hated seeing others in pain.

And that included gems like Leggy.

Pearl's expression was even easier to understand- guilt and uncertain worry; bothered by what she was seeing but aware that she wasn't the best gem to help with such overwhelming amount of emotion.

"We have three more signals on the radar," she said quietly, glancing at Greg when he moved closer, and grimacing when just the sound of her voice made Leggy flinch. "I guess they are... The ones we met on the way to the Zoo."

Steven's stomach tightened uncomfortably, and in response he pulled Leggy closer. So that meant that Eyeball would be the last to be picked up.

That thought wasn't at all comforting.

Chancing a glance at Garnet, Steven had to furrow his brows. The fusion seemed to be ignoring anything that was happening in the ship; instead she was at the farther most wall, looking outside. At first Steven wondered if she was just content to let him do their thing- but then he noticed her hands. She had her arms crossed, and body twisted in such way he wasn't really able to see all of them- but what he _did_ see, was her fingers gripping on her elbows just a tad tight. Enough that it was noticeable.

Steven bit his lip. Was she upset with him? He couldn't see what for. Was this for the very beginning..? But no, that couldn't be it.

"...Am... Am I a prisoner..?"

Timid, croaky voice interrupted him from his thoughts, and the boy looked down, into a pair of wide, fearful eyes. Leggy's fingers were clutching the blue fabric of his zoo clothes, the gem visibly bracing herself for his answer.

"Well," Steven murmured, guilt gnawing at his insides "Kinda." The ruby's expression fell immediately- but she didn't return to her bawling, nor did she moved away from him, probably deeming him safe.

"Hey, come on hot stuff," Amethyst interrupted their collective gloom with a cheerful grin "Up up up- you remember me from the game, don't cha? Heey, wanna tell he how you liked it?"

She didn't wait for Leggy to answer, already pulling her to her feet by hooking her hands under her arms- though she was gentle. It appeared however that the red gem _did_ remember her, as her eyes brightened in recognition- and then the nickname Amethyst used registered and Leggy's cheeks flushed.

"I- you were- I m-mean-!"

"Don't sweat it, peach cheeks," the small quartz winked at her, leading her away, purr in her voice "You were pretty great on the field, yanno~?"

"I- wha- ...r-really?"

"Of course!"

"Ugh," Pearl groaned, turning back to the console with few unflattering comments about what Amethyst was doing; which was slightly unfair in Steven's opinion, as the purple gem's plan was pretty obvious, and- most importantly- working. The ruby was blushing, her hands clasping together in a nervous fashion- but her shy gaze was fixed on Amethyst, slowly but surely getting brighter and more sparkly.

"That is so surreal," Steven's father muttered, watching as well "I mean, you did say there are like, tons of you guys, but... Still."

"You've seen the other amethyst though?" The boy frowned at him, confused. Greg shot him a sheepish smile.

"Well, _they_ weren't like our Amethyst..."

"The others won't be won over so easily."

Garnet finally decided to come over. Steven looked up into her face and she shot him a small smile- but he could see it was just the tiniest bit forced. The boy looked way, grasping at his stomach in unease; he wondered what was bothering Garnet to make her this... Unhappy. Did he had something to do with it?

"...I know." He sighed instead "But we _can't_ leave them out there." He remembered Navy and Army holding onto each other before the ship swept into them and winced internally.

"...We won't." Garnet assured him softly, reaching with her sapphire hand to touch his cheek. Steven welcomed it- turning his head and nuzzling her palm, hoping to convey whatever apology she wanted from him. There was a brief twitch to her cheek- as if she didn't know if she should frown- but her expression eased into something more natural.

Steven smiled weakly at her and nodded. But when he looked towards the inky space, his smile faded.

_Just... Hold on Eyeball. We are coming._

_...Don't worry..._

-«-

Though the sun wasn't that close, it was close enough for it to be very bright. And when Ruby's body twisted just the wrong way, the shine from it glared straight through her eyelid. The gem let out a soundless scream, rubbing her eye in irritation, before glaring into the star's direction. _Stupid Earth sun, stupid solar system-!_

But the ire and fight drained from her as soon as it appeared, prompting her to curl into a ball of misery once again, her working eye squeezing shut, brows furrowing in an expression of anguish.

This seemed to happen more often than not now; for some odd chance, Ruby's cocoon would turn towards the yellow sun, and she would be roused again, forced to face the reality that was her pathetic existence now. She would be awoken from the fuzzy static her mind had became, forced to feel pain from the too much bright light, forced to be annoyed by it, and to throw a tantrum. And her thread of patience was getting thinner and thinner, and with it grew her frustration- to the point she could feel actual tears forming in her eyes before they froze her eyelid shut.

If she had any air left, she'd heave a dry sob, because this was _not fair_. Lost forever in the orbit of the one planet she never ever planned on returning to- just the _thought_ of it had made her temper boil- and even _that_ she couldn't do right.

This was her punishment for even daring to look for some closure.

Was this what happened to Jasper too?

Ruby couldn't help but think about the big quartz in moments like these - certainly easier than thinking about _her_.

_(-did she mean Rose Quartz or Pink Diamond? The gem wasn't sure anymore-)_

She still wanted to know what they did with her. The 'quartz who could'-

Sudden, blinding light shone at her form and Ruby screamed internally, her hands flying to her hair, yanking at the tufts in a fit of mindless rage. She just about _had it_ \- Getting tricked _three_ times, _mocked_ by blatantly flaunting their mistake into their faces, _flung_ into the emptiness of space and left there to _rot_ for all eternity, and now she couldn't even _submit_ to the misery that was to be _her existence_ without some _stupid, **cracked** star blinding her at every possible moment-!!_

But the light did not came from the star that was the bane of her sanity for so long now. It came from _a ship_ \- a Roaming Eye to be specific, and Ruby felt her rage evaporating in the face of absolute _confusion_ and _disbelief_.

Was this real? Or was she imagining  it? But no, it _was_ real- and it was getting closer by seconds, the light never leaving her floating form, and Ruby experienced something, felt a tiny warmth that she never thought was possible- a small glimmer of what could only be hope. Did they actually sent someone? Another crew of rubies, ready to take all of them home? Did they searched the planet's surface first and then figured where her platoon went off to?

Had the rebels been captured as well?

Has Rose Quartz been taken into custody?

These questions demanded answers, and they flooded Ruby's mind, throwing her into a state of jittery mess, the gem looking forward to the ship with near mad-glint in her working eye. It hurt to look- for so long she saw only the deep black of space, apart from the occasional cruel glare of the system's star, that the bright light from the ship's beacon was sending jolts of straining pain through her only working eye. But she could not look away; could not bear the slim, but still very real possibility, that this was just hallucination and not actually a rescue party sent from Yellow Diamond.

Slight stinging guilt ate at her inside. After all, she did not think too favourable of her leaders in this past few cycles, and she was sure that if there were gems capable of searching her mind, she would be shattered on the spot for just a slimmer of her memories. But it did not matter now; Ruby was now corrected on her mistake- a mistake she would never make again, that she _swore_ \- and as soon as she was inside, she would give her report- even to a _newbie_ \- and though behind on schedule, they could continue their search for Jasper-

The Eye's door opened, and she was drawn in- but in the moment, even before her feet touched the ground (no way _she_ was going to fall like some _common pearl_ -), she knew she has been mistaken after all, as her single eye slid from face to face, from the shameless tall fusion and ending with a _human_ of all things.

This was no Homeworld rescue team- the ship was _her platoon's ship_.

And though they were all there- and Ruby could only feel relief at seeing them whole, and not cracked (pebbles, the lot of them)- the rest of the news wasn't as good. As she stared into the face of _Rose - **cracked** \- Quartz, _she could feel any previous hints of hope draining from her face in favour of a numb, expressionless look.

All a trick. It was all just _another trick_.

 _But this time_ , she thought emotionlessly, as she sank to her knees and her palms came rest on the metal floor _, this time it was me. All me. Tricking myself, believing, **hoping**_ -

But she was right the first time, hasn't she?

No-one was coming.

Who would look for five lost rubies after all?

...Apparently their enemies would, and Ruby just wished, in exhausted, gem-weary weakness, for them to _just go away_.

"Four-En-Dee," her platoon's captain exclaimed as soon as the initial shock from her nearly collapsing faded "Good! Now we have the advantage of numbers, so we can subdue these rebels immediately!" Ruby ignored her. Tuning out her self-important (albeit competent) babbling, to raise her head and stare at the small, weak form of Rose Quartz, while the leader of the Rebellion stared back.

The red gem remembered the last time she saw those eyes. They had been wide with shock and fear, and she could remember _revelling_ in it, could almost sense it in the limited air of the pink bubble, taste it on her tongue.

This time those eyes were fearless, firm and hooded with sadness. And Ruby just _knew_ the quartz was pitying her- those _eyes_ saw the struggle and the little fractures that were in her mind.

"...What are you planning to do," she questioned, her voice more of a wheezing rasp than her usual growl "Shatter me?" That would be fair. She had threatened her, and Rose Quartz survived the encounter, to later gather her allies as a backup. Her eye glanced at the fusion- who was visibly chewing the side of her cheek to stop herself from interrupting, the gem noted with some dark amusement. They looked like they really wanted to take a swing.

_(-Ruby wasn't sure if she had the will to defend herself-)_

"Four-En-Dee!" the gem with a yellow visor snapped again, and Ruby had to grind her teeth to continue focusing on her enemy. She had no time for pebbles who didn't know better.

"...No." Rose whispered, then shook her head, visibly steeling herself. "We are taking you back to Earth. There you will be under the monitoring of the Crystal Gems." Both the pearl and amethyst looked at the quartz at that, but the red gem had no patience to try and puzzle out their expressions. She was staring at Rose, because the quartz said _monitor_ , not _guard_ , and Ruby wasn't some fresh out of the ground pebble to not know the difference between the meaning of the two.

It startled a mirthless, choking laugh out of her.

"Why? What _use_ are five _forgotten_ rubies to your already lost cause?" Rose seemed to falter at her words, before determination shone again in her face, but Ruby was too tired to listen to reasons and excuses. She turned her face away from her in clear dismissal and disinterest, getting to her feet and walking slowly to a far end of the small room- away from the Crystal Gems, but also slightly away from her platoon as well.

At least that has been her plan, until her squad leader's hand gripped her wrist.

"Four-En-Dee!" she growled "You have been given a direction, soldier!" Ruby couldn't help but stare at her- at the glint in her eyes, the way she jutted her jaw proudly, at her suspenders that ended in half-diamond symbols. And Ruby realized, that her platoon _had no idea_.

"I...." she whispered, the realization crashing onto her shoulder like a hail of ice. They did not belong to _anyone_ now. _She_ didn't belong to anyone. Homeworld left them to perish in the cold emptiness of space- left her platoon to be shattered by space debris. That good as made them gone in Homeworld's eyes, and even if they by some miracle defeated the rebels and set the course back towards Yellow Diamond, there would be no place for them.

"I..." she repeated slowly, reaching to grab the insolent ruby's hand in twice as hard grip that made her hiss in surprise "Don't... have to _listen_ to you.... _So shut **the crACK UP!** "_

She threw her back towards the platoon, watching her bowl into them with a breathless cackle, even as the corner of her eyes started itching and leaking, and there was a movement behind her that signalled a struggle among the rebels- but she could only look at the shocked look of the rubies- _the dummies_ \- as if their whole universe was turned around and they didn't know what to think about it, and Ruby wanted to shout you _are all so cracking **dumb** -!_

Rose was shouting the fusion's name in desperation but Ruby didn't bother to look.

Then her world exploded in pain and puff of reddish smoke.


	2. Unbubbled

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Throws this at you*   
> Ugh this chapter didn't want to be written at all :/

Chapter 2: Unbubbled

Coming face to face with Eyeball was… not what Steven expected.

He had expected anger, had expected her to flip into mindless rage the way she almost did all those weeks ago in the bubble- Doc certainly seemed angry enough to at least rant at them, but quite level-headedly stopped Army from lunging at them. Seeing as Eyeball has been the one Steven was worried about the most- both survival instinct and hefty amount of genuine concern was involved- he slightly expected their meeting to go badly.

And technically it did- but in the most _awful_ way that didn’t involve having his gem cut out. Eyeball was... Steven never saw such a deep exhausted look on anyone. He wondered if he was the only one to see the spark in her eye dim to nothingness when she took them all in, and the guilt and ache for the old gem was almost unbearable. And her voice... so _quiet_ and just _empty_ , as if she expected them to put her down like a- like a- well, Steven didn’t want to think about that. But it seemed she deemed him- and the rest of his family- just not worthy of her attention, and Steven wondered just what are they going to do with them all..?

There was a great desire to follow her when she turned away from him to find a place to settle, and it was only his father’s hand on his shoulder that kept him rooted to the spot- but when Doc grabbed the light-skinned ruby’s wrist, the whole atmosphere suddenly shifted from lethargic to something _sharp_ and _tense_. It made his breath hitch and cold raced up his spine, and there was the feeling of a _warning,_ like something was about to happen-

He almost saw it happen before it actually did. Like some instinctual observation of the way Eyeball tensed and the glint in her eye changed from dull to something almost unhinged- no, not that, but _broken_. And now Steven found himself lurching forward, gaze wide and prepared to tear the rubies away from each other (his experiences at the Zoo showed he was strong if he wanted)- but Garnet was faster. Blurring from her spot behind him, she was at Eyeballs side just as the one-eyed ruby thrown her squad leader at the others, and for just a split second, Steven felt relief- _Garnet always knew what to do, she would help-_ but that relief faded, when the boy realized exactly _what_ the fusion really intended to do.

“Garnet _, wait_ -!”

She heard him- he knew he did. Steven also was sure Garnet _saw_ him protesting, but even then, he could only stand still as the tall fusion summoned her gauntlets and crushed the red gem into a puff of cloud, not dissimilarly to when she poofed Peridot. Still, seeing the red gem glint in the artificial lights of the ship, he snapped out of shock and jumped up, gently catching the square-cut stone in his warm palms. Landing gently back on his bare feet, he instinctively looked the gemstone over, heaving a soft breath of relief as he saw no damage- no cracks or any hairline fractures- on the surface.

“...Garnet, what-“ he couldn’t help give her slightly miffed and absolutely confused look as he turned to her “Why did you _do_ that?”

“Bubble her, Steven.” the fusion ordered instead of giving him and answer, but it was said in such terse tone that had the boy lean slightly back, his grip tightening protectively around the small stone. It felt very warm.

“Wha- why?” he questioned, a bit sharply than he intended, but he was just so taken aback, startled from both Garnet’s actions and her behaviour, and he just didn’t _understand_ anything. Again.

“Steven. _Enough._ “ her words came as a slight warning, but this was not something he could just let go. Garnet was acting oddly the whole time since they started gathering the rubies- started acting weird even before they did, Steven realized, and he just couldn’t understand _why_. This wasn’t like that time before with the mirror, or with the trip to Keystone- it was some sort of negativity but Steven just couldn’t put his finger on what it was.

“Why would you poof her?” he continued “I- I know she threw Doc back, but she didn’t attack anyone!“

“Steven,” Pearl piped up softly, folding her hands nervously as her gaze shifted between him and Garnet “I think it would be better if we just bubbled... ‘Eyeball’ for now-“

“She could have, and I am _not_ spending an hour on this ship trying to keep the passengers from tearing into each other.” Garnet said back, clearly keeping her voice calm for his sake, interrupting Pearl as if she hadn’t spoke and the pale gem deflated on her chair. Steven absently acknowledged his father laying a comforting hand on Pearl’s thin shoulder, but his focus was completely set on the fusion’s neutral expression.

“She _‘could have’_? Does that mean you don’t know for sure?” he prodded, his irritation rising. He stood his ground, his gaze just short of glaring into the reflective visor of his most respected figure, because this just wasn’t _fair_ of her. Sure, he could understand that Eyeball was definitely a different case from Peridot, but didn’t they learn anything from that encounter?

He could hear the rubies near silently making sure their leader was okay, and that made his grip on Eyeball’s gem shift into something more secure.

 Garnet noticed.

Her neutral expression shifted into something that almost resembled a scowl, and Steven was sure she was glaring- not at him but at the gem in his hands, and _just what did she see_?

“Aw, come on dude,” this time it was Amethyst, her voice cracking and nervous laugh escaping her throat “It’s just an hour-“

“Steven. Bubble her, _now_.”

Hushed silence dropped over the whole ship and the boy stared up at one of his oldest caregivers, the one that always supported him- and shook his head.

“But _why_?” he insisted “Why Garnet? We could just have her reform-“

“ _But that is **not** your decision to make!_ ” she finally snapped at him, almost yelling, her throat rumbling in a way that very much reminded him of Ruby. It made him flinch back and stare at her with wide-eyed gaze, and the sudden silence after her outburst was so thick one could hear a pin drop. Immediately, he could see her mouth twist into something much like regret, but the way her jaw was set forward and her shoulders were tense meant she was being serious.

“...Yeah,” he said quietly, feeling similar regret churn nastily in his stomach “Yeah, alright.”

Pink bubble sprung around the inert gem in his hands, and he silently walked around his father to sit back in his chosen seat. He noticed brief scuffle among the rubies, where Army clearly gave a silent growl and leaned forward with the intent of getting Eyeball from him, but Doc’s hand on her arm stopped her. The visor clad ruby did not look at him- her attention was focused sorely at the red gem suspended in the pink bubble, and there was indescribable look on her face. Something puzzled, something startled and at the same time solemn with hint of understanding.

He could see Garnet made a half-abandoned notion of heading towards him, but then she clearly changed her mind and turned to stand beside Amethyst instead. There was a low murmur of near silent conversation between his father and Pearl- and while Steven was very glad they got along so well, right now he was simply tired and conflicted how he felt.

Yeah, okay, he kind of blew it there. He pushed and pushed, even though he could see Garnet was clearly tense- and perhaps it wasn’t good idea to argue with her in front of the ruby squad. If that wasn’t undermining her authority, than he didn’t know what was. But yet at the same time, her decision was completely opposite of what they did just moments before- what she let him to do with Leggy, where she let him deal with Doc and Navy and Army- and even let him be the spokesperson when they finally collected Eyeball. So why the sudden change of her mind?

Hearing that he had no say in how to deal with their ‘guests’ _stung_. Perhaps he’d gotten too used to his opinion mattering and maybe that has been a mistake, but that didn’t mean it softened the blow. If only it actually made it somehow _worse_ , because why would she consult him or let him decide alone all those instances before? She even let him burn himself on his decision to see Pink Diamond’s palanquin, _so it made no sense_.

_What was it about Eyeball that rubbed her the wrong way?_

-«-

The rest of the trip has been a silent, tense affair.

At one point, his father came over to offer silent support, but apart from giving the boy a weak smile, there was nothing he could say that could lift Steven’s mood. Pearl focused on the steering and Amethyst managed to lure Leggy into another conversation, setting close but not too close to the rubies- conversation which Doc would normally cut off right away, but checking her Steven could see that she looked just as down as he felt, clearly subdued from Eyeball lashing out the way she did. Still, she possessed enough self-awareness to keep a calming arm on Army, whose scowl could set the whole ship ablaze. Navy was just... perfectly content to lean back with a faint smile on her lips, and there was just something off about it, that made Steven suspect the passive gem perhaps knew right from the beginning they weren’t humans at all.

At least there was something adorable the way the youngest ruby shyly paid attention to the boisterous quartz, and Amethyst being so attentive and kind to the red gem just made Steven want to go all _‘D’aaaww~‘_ at the scene- before he noticed Garnet standing resolutely some distance away, her head not even once turning his way, and that just plain _sucked._

When the ship finally touched down at the beach in front of the temple, all Steven could feel was relief. Stepping outside of the ramp- pink bubble in his hands- he just closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting the familiar scent of the sea sooth his troubled mind.

“Oof, thank whatever deity that this is finally over,” Greg sighed, rolling on the balls of his feet and smiling down at his toes digging into the sand “Man, it’s so _different_ to feel the beach- like everything in the Zoo was striving to be just _perfect_ , that the fine sand they had was really _weird_.”

Now that Steven thought about it, the Zoo was an experience he will definitely never forget. At first glance, a perfect utopia- no illness, no pain, no hurt, abundance of food and perfect clean environment- and maybe that’s why it was so unsettling and just _disturbing_ to be there, even for a moment.

Remembering it made him shudder and press closer to his father.

“ _Steven!”_

Head snapping up at the call of his name, apprehension settling on his face by pure instinct- before it transformed to a soft joy, when the front door to his house slammed open and a familiar figure ran out to greet them.

“Connie!” he cried back, running forward to shorten the distance between them and then savoured the enthusiastic hug she gave him. Soon however she drew back, quite obviously taken aback at his lack of reciprocation.  Her gaze strayed to his hands and her eyes widened, the girl giving him a puzzled and slightly alarmed look.

“Steven, what-“

“Steven.”

Tensing, he looked away from his friend and towards the fusion. Garnet walked up to stand behind him while he was busy, and from a distance he could see the four rubies reluctantly leave the confines of the ship under Pearl’s and Amethyst’s watchful eyes. The fusion clearly paused, hesitant, before just silently reaching out with her hand, waiting.

“...You promise she will okay?” the boy questioned quietly as he slowly offered the bubble, watching as Garnet gently plucked it out of his palms “You won’t leave her bubbled?” Steven could see her pause- before she nodded. It didn’t reassure him but he trusted her to keep her word, as even though they had their differences- and she clearly didn’t wish for Eyeball to run around free- he knew she always keeps all her promises.

“...We will take care of our guests,” she murmured to him after straightening “Go with Connie and your father. I am sure you have lot to talk about.” If that wasn’t a dismissal then her walking away towards the temple was, and Steven sighed before throwing Connie a weak smile.

“...You tell me your experience and I tell mine?” she offered, smiling back a little but her eyebrows were furrowed in worry. Steven sighed again and then nodded, throwing look at his father who chuckled.

“Ah, I think I will go rest up in my van,” he stretched and yawned “This space adventure kinda tired me out.”

Connie clearly bit her lip.

“Ah, you are going to the car wash? Well, about that...”

-«-

The first though she had was dizzying. Enough that she actually couldn’t immediately recall what it was about, and so she curled to a tighter ball- only, she couldn’t feel her limbs or see the way she was supposed to, so what...?

But she could not panic because there was something keeping her from panicking- or maybe it was that there was literally _nothing_ to panic about and she just _knew_ this, knew it an embraced it on subconscious level. But what did that mean? She had no clue for the moment and thinking hurt- only it didn’t, not really, at least not in the physical sense. But in a way where it _mattered_ , she felt weary, tired, and _so old_.

So what happened? She couldn’t remember. But it took her a while to realize that she must have been defeated, crushed into a cloud....

_The ship._

_Her crew._

**_Rose Quartz_ ** _._

She could remember. Remember the traitorous quartz picking her up from the unforgiving coldness of space and exhausted anger filled her again. But no, she already went over this- rage and contempt got her into trouble the first time, and 4ND wasn’t so foolish to make the same mistake twice. She could just sit down, bide her time. Strike the Rose Quartz when she had a chance. But should she? Was it worth it? She had no idea. How long was it since her form she was destroyed? How much time passed? Just because to her it felt like being aware right away, she could have spent decades, maybe centuries trapped in a bubble and she didn’t know what would she do if that turned out to be true.

Where was her squad?

Thinking about her platoon made her remember what happened in the control room of the Roaming Eye- and made her groan softly, covering her face (or at least, feeling like doing it). That kind of snap of control... She had been annoyed and stressed but that was no _excuse_. She was a soldier, a warrior, a survivor of the gem war and the only one remaining from her-

_NO._

No...

Her mind drew blank and for a moment she was _lost_. Here but not here, and when she came back to herself she just wished to remain here forever. Stuck in this limbo of her inert gem up until the point it shatters by the passage of time; an odd, static but unfeeling phase of existence, not forced to face the deep pit of bitterness that were her emotions. It would be so easy too- she just had no desire to reform, no desire to face the cruel reality outside- especially not when she was sure she was back on that _cursed planet_ , and every piece of it just churns her stomach something awful, disgust rising within her like acidic bile.

But right away after thinking that she knew she couldn’t. She had a responsibility to her crew, no matter how foolish and _young_ they were- how undeserving of the _visor_ their Captain was. But really, how could she think she deserved it any better? Not when she just spent however long debating the possibility of abandoning them? Hah, _she was just as bad as the rest of them_.

It hadn’t been this way before- of course, she hated the fact she had to return to _that place_ , and face the sights of her past- face the _fears as well_ \- but she got over it. And by though seeing it first time after so many years was jarring, _she got over that too_. She had been strong, and focused on the mission, and was quite content to travel for ‘Neptune’, as the _humans_ called it.

Of course that was before she knew about the depth of their trickery, before she knew they were Crystal Gems (- _how could she not know, they were on **Earth** , which gems they were likely to encounter on that miserable planet than **them**_ -). Before finding out Rose Quartz lives.

She hated the planet.

But she knew she couldn’t stay _here_.

She won’t give the traitors _the_ _satisfaction_.

Reforming was laughably easy. That confirmer her gem had not been damaged in the scuffle- or more like an assault- and Ruby had to admit that she had been expecting to appear in some sort of hovel of metal and stones, expected to remain there under the careful watch of those traitors. She expected Rose Quartz bearing down on her without an ounce of mercy in her face, showing her true side now that they weren’t at risk of being lost in space and she had the upper hand- _the traitorous, diamond-shattering **rough cut**_.

She expected that unaccountable number of sun cycles have passed and her squad has been long since converted or ground into a fine dust.

She hadn’t expected clear blue sky and sand under her boots, or the _massive_ image of a fusion (was it a fusion?) cut into a rock.

She hadn’t expected to come face to face with _the pearl_.

“Is this-“ she rasped, thunderous snarl settling on her face “ _Are you_ **_SERIOUS_**?!!”

Immediately the somewhat pleasant expression the pearl wore turned into an ugly scowl- but Ruby didn’t care. This was humiliating! Out of the question! She has been the one to _endanger_ Rose Quartz, to come within _inches_ of shattering her- she should be treated with caution, with utmost prejudice- and yet, when she came to, she was greeted with _a pearl_.

_A pearl!_

This was insulting!

_“Where is Rose Quartz!”_ she spat at the lithe gem, her previous apathy disappearing in face of this _travesty_. _“Where is she?!”_

She was a soldier! Would it bother them to treat her with at least a small amount of respect she deserves?!

The pearl said nothing but then again, her face said it all: Rose Quartz was not around for Ruby to rage on her and she would be the only point of contact between 4ND and the rest of the Crystal Gems- a situation both of them were not satisfied with. The red gem growled as she clearly recognized the distaste the other wore on her oval face and for some strange, irrational reason got the urge to grab that long nose and just _squeeze_. But there were few things to consider that would prove that this path was _not_ the correct one to choose.

First, Ruby had no idea where the fusion was lurking, and that filled her with low key paranoia because there was _no way_ the fusion was not near.

Second, they would probably take it for an attack and while that was normally fine with her, now that she talked herself into reforming she didn’t want to do it again _anytime soon_.

Third, this was obviously the Renegade, Rose Quartz’s right hand, if that spear she is holding said anything.

And yes, the pearl had _a spear_ \- an actual summoned weapon by the looks of it- and _stars_ , didn’t that filled her with contempt for the other. But what it proved was that the pearl obviously had some training as her fingers curled around the shaft with quiet confidence and her arm was steady. Her gaze, which had been previously indecisive, gained some steel following Ruby’s outburst- 4ND’s fault then that she put the rebel on guard and that didn’t sit well with her _at all_. It was a rookie’s mistake, one a gem of her age and experience shouldn’t be making, and yet here she was, acting like a foolish pebble.

She _hated_ this planet.

“Are you quite done?” the pearl spoke, tone calm and almost bored with Ruby’s outburst. Angered once again, the small gem opened her mouth to give her piece of her mind, but the other gem continued before she could.

“Right. So here is how it will be from now on.” Straightening, the Renegade cleared her throat. “I do not care how lenient Steven decided to be towards you and your crew- _especially_ towards _you_ -“ she glared and Ruby scoffed in response, crossing her arms “-but since you are here, on this planet, there will be some ground rules.”

The soldier bristled.

“As if I’m _gonna-_ “

“Yes you will, unless you want to be bubbled for all eternity.” The lithe gem interrupted smoothly, without change in intonation. It was quite clear that to her, Ruby’s protests or opinions did not matter. “I volunteered to be the one informing you of these changes as Steven doing so is unwise- for _obvious_ reasons- and both Amethyst and Garnet would squash you into the sand faster than you would even get a word out. So I am sure you appreciate my gracious sacrifice.”

The _‘not’_ didn’t even need to be implied and Ruby growled low at the other’s _smug_ tone, fire bubbling in her core.

“You can _try_ to control me,” she hissed, shoulders hunching forward and hands clenching into fists “But you will _never_ br-“

“Yes yes, ‘never break your everlasting loyalty to the Homeworld’s noble cause’, or something like that.” the pearl rolled her eyes, waving her hand dismissively. “Truthfully, I don’t particularly care- about Homeworld, or even about making an effort to- how did you say it?- ah, to _try_ control you. Oh no, I am just a simple messenger- it will be _Garnet_ who will carry out any necessary _control_.”

Garnet.

_The fusion._

Ruby had to swallow down a curse and she could swear she felt the phantom pain of large gauntlets effortlessly crushing her form into nothingness. Paranoia reared its ugly head and the red gem looked towards the large statue- freezing when she noticed the mentioned gem staring at her from the bottom of the temple, back straight and visor glinting maliciously in the Earth’s late-hour sun. _She didn’t even **notice** her, _Ruby realized, gritting her teeth, _has she been here all the time_?

“Ah, yes,” the lithe gem commented with all the investment of someone talking about weather “Garnet felt her presence might convince you to change your stance on the ground rules.”

And by the Authority, did it ever? She gave the tall fusion a glare, hoping it would be enough to tell the other she was not going down so easily- however 4ND would be foolish to not admit that the threat of being bubbled again by such _violent_ way didn’t send a spark of unease- _not fear, never fear_ \- down her back. Growling in displeasure, she turned to the other gem.

“...What are the rules?” Ruby uttered through gritted teeth.

The pearl’s face eased into her previous pleasant expression.

-«-

“So that’s her?”

“Yeah- that’s Eyeball.”

A scoff interrupted their whispered conversation.

“She doesn’t look _that_ tough.”

Both Connie and Steven turned to look at the green gem- the former with a glare and the latter with exasperation- before turning their attention once again to the beach.

They were hiding- or well, they were told to remain in reasonable distance from the confrontation happening bellow, though Steven didn’t think ‘confrontation’ was the right word for it. More like a gentle, passive aggressive argument, with shouted words and impressive weapon comparison.  He could even see the moment the red gem forced herself to calm down and listen- though if it had something to do with rational thought or the fact that Garnet stood on the porch of his house as a very impressive guard dog, was hard to tell.

However Steven would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a bit relieved that the ruby appeared _at all._

Garnet has kept her word, like the boy believed and trusted she would. Even going as far as allowing them to look over the planned meeting, on the condition they remain up high on the temple’s palm warp pad, stay out of sight and would take an adult supervision from other Crystal Gem.

A task, for which Peridot volunteered with enthusiasm.

_“I, the most loveable Peridot, am the new leader of the Crystal Gems, after all.”_

And so the pink bubble was popped and the red gem fell gently to the soft sand below while the rest of them waited with bated breath for the glow to start.

And waited.

_And_ _waited_.

But an hour passed, and then two- and it started to seem that Eyeball might not be coming out at all. Steven hadn’t been that worried- not at first, as Pearl took two weeks to come back. However from the glance the lithe gem threw back towards the temple, seeking out Garnet’s directions, he easily guessed that this perhaps _wasn’t_ the norm for a ruby. And that’s where the anxiety started. Was something wrong? Had he missed a fracture, a tiny crack? Did they scare Eyeball into not reforming? Was she doing it on purpose? And if so, why?

Connie, seeing him tense, had grasped his hand into hers and squeezed it in support, for which he gave her a small smile.

Peridot on the other hand-

“This is ridiculous,” the green gem muttered in faint distaste, attempting to look aloof and collected but failing quite miserably “First she fails to reform within respectable time period, _then_ she attempts to overthrow Pearl’s clear authority as my third-in-command-“

“Is Garnet your second-in-command then?” Connie asked dryly.

“Yes, naturally! But don’t interrupt me!” Peridot huffed and cleared her throat. “As I was _saying_ , the ruby clearly doesn’t know how we work around here! How can we be so sure she won’t stab us the moment we have our back turn to her?”

“Well she will definitely do that if we treat her with this much suspicion.” Steven murmured glumly, his unnaturally low mood finally shutting Peridot up. But the boy just didn’t understand _why_ everyone was treating the red gem with such hostility. When he raised the question however, Connie looked at him frowning with some incredulousness in her eyes.

“She tried to _kill you_ , Steven! After you healed her! “ Ah yes, he did tell her that. Steven glanced down nervously, hoping Garnet didn’t hear anything.

“Peridot and Lapis tried to kill me too, though.” He then pointed out, ignoring the green gem’s squeak of denial.

“Well, yes,” Connie allowed ( _“I didn’t!”_ ) with a small worried grimace “But not like this, this is just- it’s just _different_.” The boy bit his lip, trying to decide if he should just be quiet. It didn’t seem fair- sure, Eyeball did try to kill him, and without any possible way to escape he had been pretty terrified. However that didn’t mean she didn’t deserve a chance. Just like the gems thought Peridot, or Lapis didn’t deserve a chance. And now look at them!

Well, it wasn’t the first time he alone believed in someone.

“...Where are the other four anyway?” Peridot asked after a moment of sulking, apparently deciding it wasn’t worth the sudden silence. “Bubbled too?”

“No, actually,” Steven shook his head “Only Eyeball has been, because, well, _reasons_ -“ he smiled nervously at the gem’s suspicious squint “-The rest are free to be outside- or not exactly free, we will keep an eye on them-“

“You won’t put them in our Barn, will you?” Peridot suddenly cried out, horrified “Because you can’t- it’s _our_ Barn! _Made of wood!_ ”

“What? OH! No, the Barn is yours and Lapis’,” he assured her, heaving a sigh of relief as she settled back, pacified “But we did decide to have them live the Lighthouse.”

“Isn’t that the older boy’s- Ronaldo?-  secret hideout though?” Connie questioned, puzzled, and Steven had to grimace.

“I told the Gems that, but I get the feeling they don’t particularly care.”

“...I think it’ll be a bit funny to see his reaction.”

“ _Connie!_ ”

-«-

Rule number **one** :

Attacking anyone with her weapon is prohibited.

Rule number **two** :

Attacking anyone in _any way_ is prohibited, _period_.

Rule number **three** :

Ruby will stay within the given perimeter near the Lighthouse (the human structure overseeing the see) or the Temple. She was not allowed to go into the human settlement.

_As if she’d want to._

Rule number **four** :

She will never approach “Steven” on her own.

That last one had her scowl, but not for the reason the pearl thought. She wasn’t so stupid to try and ambush the quartz now, not when they were clearly looking out for it- but she just couldn’t _believe_ the rebel leader was fooling _everyone_ , even her own troops, with this despicable disguise. Acting all innocent and merciful, lapping up the other gems’ attention, lulling them into false security- pretending to be _human_ , with human _designation_ \- that was just **disgusting**. But if the Crystal Gems were so _dumb_ to see through it, well, Ruby wasn’t going to be the one drawing attention to the matter. Let them find out for themselves, let them fall _deep_ and _hard._

It will be quite satisfying to watch.

However now was no time to be savagely pleased about the rebels’ failures. Angrily stomping down the beach’s backshore, after being so graciously dismissed by the Renegade ( _as if she had the right!_ ), Ruby was positively simmering with rage and humiliation. How dare they, _how_ _dare they_! This was worse than being a prisoner- as a prisoner she’d be treated exactly how she should be, a dangerous adversary waiting for the right moment to strike.  But this... This was _ridiculous_. Watched over like some sort of fresh-out-of-kindergarten pebble, like some barely trainer rookie- she was a veteran, an experienced soldier! But no- apparently she was the only _one_ given this special treatment, this _stupid hand-holding_!

Unable to hold it, she finally screamed, the wordless sound full of rage and frustration and severe _hatred_ for the miserable planet. Aiming a furious kick at nearby jutting out rock, she could only curse when it didn’t bunch an inch- and infuriated she pounced at it with her fist ready.

The first hit wasn’t at all satisfying- nor was the second one, or the one after. In fact, pummelling the rock didn’t make her feel better _at all_ , even as she imagined Rose Quartz’ smug face staring at her from the slowly crumbling stone. Furious tears burned in the corner of her eye as she sped up, evaporating into steam right away, her fist blurring with the intensity of her punches.

_Stop this._

_There is no use._

_You are hurting yourself._

The last thought came with the sound of a cracking rock and intense, burning and throbbing _ache_ in her fist. She drew it back- it was shaking and she couldn’t uncurl her fingers without searing pain running up her arm- so she pressed it as it was to her body, chest heaving with shallow pants as she stared numbly at the ground.

The rock split in two.

Her arm hurt.

_Well that was quite understandable_ , she thought to herself, angry and tired, _you are tough- but not tough enough to shatter stone with your bare hand._

Her mood dropped even lower.

Turning her head away so she didn’t have to look at the mess any longer, she returned to her previous path with every intention of reaching her destination. However if the sudden burst of rage and frustration brought her something, it was some sort of clarity to her feelings and needs- and Ruby realised she didn’t want to face her platoon just _yet_. It was almost funny; cycles ago she would do anything to guard their back, despite being annoyed by some of their more naive behaviour- but that was just the product of the others emerging well after the war ended. Still, despite how long it took her to warm up to them, she did, eventually-

But all that didn’t seem to matter right now, somehow.

Oh there was guilt- _guilt_ and _shame_ for reacting the way she did on the ship, the way she disrespected her Captain even if she considered her unprepared for the mission. There had been no need to blame the others for their loyalty- and yet she did, in the most unpleasant way possible and she was just _so tired_.

She couldn’t face them- not now. Not when everything was still so fresh, not when she was still so angry, not when they were trapped on this miserable, _diamond-murdering battleground_ -

Sucking in a hissing breath, the Ruby slowed down at her pace until she came to a spot and turned toward the rocky overhang instead, opting to sit down and lean against the cool stone. Closing her eye against the sun, she just focused on drawing in deep and slow breaths, letting the coolness of the air sooth her frazzled nerves. How good it was to finally breathe however- to finally be able to speak and yell, when before she has been nothing but an empty husk. To hear something else beside her half-insane thoughts.

If she didn’t know better, she could have called the atmosphere peaceful, almost serene.

But it wasn’t- it never will be, not when this planet took and kept on _taking_ , and ruined and kept on _ruining_ \- this place was a curse, a graveyard for glittering shards and fine ground dust, bastion for traitors and disgusting organics, and now she was forced to remain here _forever_ , because Homeworld didn’t care about five rubies.

The second breath might have been a dry sob but she would deny it to the end of time. Tears stung in her eye again but she didn’t allow them to fall.

At least this time she could turn her face away from the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Eyeball is unbubbled and now all the rubies are at the beginning of their new life on Earth. We will see how that will work out for them huh? Also, before you ask, the main protagonists for this work are mainly EB and Steven, so while the other rubies will be in too, they won't be the stars of the show :)


End file.
